[This is a great example of the use of both social presence and medium-as-social actor presence to improve people’s lives. The story is from IEEE Spectrum, where it includes more images and the mentioned 2:16 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: SAM is a mobile telepresence platform that autonomously navigates from room to room in a nursing facility, allowing staff to check in on residents on a regular schedule. Credit: Evan Ackerman/IEEE Spectrum.] SAM Brings Much-Needed Robotic Assistance to Senior Living Facilities By Evan Ackerman August 2, 2016 Creating a successful robot company based around providing commercial services is not easy, although…

[Presence experiences can be enhanced when the mediating technology mimics human non-mediated perception. Foveated rendering allows this at least in part by using computer resources more efficiently. This story is from MIT Technology Review, and more information, including larger versions of these and other images and a 1:20 minute video, is available from NVIDIA. –Matthew] [Images: Sample image with no foveation (top) and with contrast-preserving foveation (bottom). Source: NVIDIA.] Nvidia’s Eye-Tracking Tech Could Revolutionize Virtual Reality A phenomenon first observed by Leonardo da Vinci is being used to make virtual images look more realistic. by Simon Parkin July 21, 2016…

[TV broadcasts with resolution 16 times full 1080p HD now have their own channel in Japan; this story from Tech Insider notes the limited but important contexts (including VR) in which this ‘Super Hi-Vision’ resolution will improve the viewing experience. For details on where to see the new channel’s offerings see NHK’s press release, and for an overview of the tech available for the Rio Olympics and likely to be available for the Tokyo 2020 games, see coverage in TechRadar. –Matthew] The world’s first 8K TV broadcasts are now live — here’s what that means for you Jeff Dunn August…

[To what extent and in what ways will the future of mediated experiences, and the presence they evoke, expand from aural and visual to the other senses? This interview with Imagineering Institute director Adrian Cheok in Asian Scientist (which includes a second image) considers some of the possibilities. –Matthew] Wake Up and Smell The Roses—Virtually You can now send tastes, smells and even kisses virtually. A new age of virtual reality involving all five senses is here, with Adrian Cheok of the Imagineering Institute at its forefront Daniel Soo August 1, 2016 Once the stuff of science fiction, virtual reality…

[This story from The Washington Post is about the use of technology to create both spatial and social presence for runners, including the idea near the end of a future in which “a million people [are] literally running, walking or crawling the virtual Boston Marathon on a global scale.” The original includes more images, related links and a 2:26 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: With Outside Interactive, runners log in to an app and pay for videos of routes, which they watch on their iPad or Android tablet or on an HD television. They can manually select the pace or sync…